Category Archives: suffering

Am I enough? Am I doing enough?

Posted on June 19, 2022 by Sarah

I’ve been struggling a bit lately with a sense of mediocrity and a feeling of confusion about what I should be trying to do with my life. I can’t seem to shake the belief that I owe someone something for … Continue reading →

Posted in absolute goodness, morality, personal reflection, philosophy, self-improvement, suffering | Leave a comment

Learning to relax

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Sarah

I have written before about being driven to be highly organised, and not feeling sure whether this is an entirely healthy thing. I’ve been thinking about this again in light of my recent forays into Brene Brown’s shame resilience work, … Continue reading →

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Stoicism, acceptance and happiness

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Sarah

I have a negative bent, a tendency to see the bad in life more clearly than the good. I get very affected by bad news – and there’s a lot of it: worsening inequality, dismantling of the welfare state, another financial crisis potentially … Continue reading →

Posted in absolute goodness, meditation, morality, personal reflection, philosophy, Stoicism, suffering, Sunday Assembly | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Shame, pain, and protective ideologies

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Sarah

In the previous post, I discussed what I had learned from Brene Brown’s book “I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t)” about the way shame can arise from failing to meet expectations. A second major route into shame … Continue reading →

Posted in feminism, morality, personal reflection, politics, social justice, suffering | 3 Comments

Thoughts on the role of art in life’s struggles

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Sarah

I’ve been pondering how people handle pain and discomfort, in situations where walking away from it either isn’t an option or isn’t a choice they are willing to make. Possibly triggered partly by a book I’m reading in which a … Continue reading →

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Stoicism

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Sarah

I just read “The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking” by Oliver Burkemann. It presented several different counter-intuitive paths to happiness, having first discussed the limitations and ineffectiveness of a lot of the “positive thinking” cult. One … Continue reading →

Posted in philosophy, Stoicism, suffering | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Suffering and the need for a good story

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Sarah

A few years ago, one of the big things that stopped me believing in an underlying purpose and intention in our existence (i.e. that the universe was created by some kind of a god) had to do with suffering. I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in absolute goodness, God, morality, myth and metaphor, personal reflection, philosophy, science, suffering | 4 Comments

Being driven without being driven crazy

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Sarah

I’m curious about the state of being driven, and how to do it in a healthy way. Is it possible to really want something, and – crucially – find the motivation to do what’s needed to achieve it, without risking total … Continue reading →

Posted in meditation, personal reflection, science, self-improvement, spiritual, suffering | 10 Comments

Clarity: my new understanding of mindfulness

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Sarah

I have been interested in meditation as a way of improving quality of life ever since I first read about it in 2004, and have even dabbled in it from time to time. I find its track record in healthcare … Continue reading →

Posted in is religion good or bad for you?, meditation, morality, personal reflection, philosophy, science, self-improvement, spiritual, suffering | 8 Comments

Dealing with negative thoughts: the ACT perspective

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Sarah

Sorry the post is so long, but I haven’t written anything for five months 😀 I’m making a return to posting by picking up the same theme I left off with: the possibility of actively changing your thought patterns and … Continue reading →

Posted in meditation, personal reflection, science, self-improvement, suffering | 12 Comments